Vehicle for the transportation of sugar cane and the like



Jui 5 1927.

Y L. D. GREG@ VEHICLE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF SUGAR CANE AND THE LIKE Fiied Jan. 1o. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 1,634,778 July 5, 1927- L. D. GREGG VEHICLE FOR THEv TRANSPORTATION F SUGAR CANE AND THE LKE- @51g @Home/m Jul 5 1927. f

y L.. D. GREG@ VEHICLE FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF SUGAR CANE AND THE LIKE Filed an. 10. 1.925

5 sheets-Sheet 3 www;

@Meme/125 Patented Jury 5, 1927.

UNITED STATES LOUISE. 'GREGGQ oEHAcKENsAoK, NEW JERSEY, AssIGNoR To THE GREGG COMPANY, LIMITED, or NEW YORK, N. Y., A coRPoRA'rIoN'oE NEW YORK. l

v VEHICLE FoR THE TRANSPORTATION or SUGAR CANE AND THE LIKE.

' Application filed January 10, 1925. Serial No. 1,646.

i This invention relates primarily to a railway or other car of the type used for the transportationv ot-sugar cane, although not necessarilylimited tosucli specific purpose, and, more particularly, to the improvement o'fthe removable or movable side closure with which suchy a car is usually provided onv atleast one of its opposite sides, or ends, Y f for-'the dischargeof thelo'ad, n v*By far-the greater partofY the sugar cane grown "at the present time is transported fromthe plantation where itis cuttothe centrale, where it is ground', in railway cars,

often of narrow gauge, which for the most 'parte are /loadedfand unloaded y by mechanical means designed 'l especially for the purpose.

These cars, as theyhave.now'become more or less standardizedA bothlin Wood and 1n steel, 'comprise' an underframe which 1s covered by a solid or slat flooring and carries, rigidly mounted thereon, two solid or open-frame end walls and, in the case of the longer cars, intermediate thereof):1 one or more similar transverse walls dividing the car into a'plurality'of compartments; and, for the closure of the sides which support the cane, ruiming from three to fifteen feet length and -1 usually loadedy lengthwise or'V the car, are provided with ystakes set into stakepockets attached usually to both sides of the underiirame or, on one or both sides or ends, with some one of the various forms of sidedischarge doors which Iare pivotally mounted at the top or bottom to swing outwardly about a horizontal longitudinal axis.

The cars heretofore developed, however, have all proven unsatisfactory in some're spec-t at least.;` In order to carry the amount of'canev requiredortheir economical use,

the earsmustbe loaded'high above the threey foot (more or less). Vends and sid-es ordinarily provided, which can only .be done when the cane is carefully piled Von by expensive hand v labor.

Hence it is necessary, to render available the mechanical derricks or `other labor-*saving Vloading devices, to make the ends and sides of the cars about twice their usual height, or saysiX/feet. The discharge door hinged at its .lower edge can than' no longer be used, since the width (or height) of the door does not permit it toswing down perpendicularly or far enough to beout Vof theway of theV fallingv cane. Moreover, the cane whendropped into the car by the mechanical loaders, instead of being handA laid, is more or less jumbled and' the increased pressureof the load due thereto is too great for the! old side'stakes supported only at their` lower endsv in the stake-pockets. These tallerstakes have vaccordingly been braced at or near theirpupper rendsby a rigidly mounted horizontal rail. iBut, while'cars with 'stakes thus supported and cars' with discharge doors#pivotedv at the top canv be unloaded by vlifting the'cane out from the top *orl by tipping the cars about. thirty degrees tothe side, the iixedrail for bracing the stakes or to which the swinging" door is purpose of raking the cane 4from thecars.

K The objectfof my present invention is to remedythis defect by providing Aa closure for the' discharge side orend of a carV of the Vtype' in.v question which when locked in closed PATENT oFFlcE.)

position will support the load piled against it andwhen released will openupthe entire side of the car,or`compartment, so' as to le'ave no obstruction whatever above the iooring.

' To this end, the invention comprises, as

its principal or essential'featuraa door or pair of doors, or thetwo? sections of a double door, each yof which is hinged'to the endof an end wall of the car, to'swing about a vertical axis; which doors may be solid or of open frameworkI either rigidly or Hexibly joined, may be of a width to meet at the V center. of the carwhenswung together or may be narrower so as to leave amore or less extended central opening, and may be releasably locked in closed position at the side of the car in'various ways.

y It also includes the other novell'eatures and combinations of elements hereinafter Vdescribed 'and particuiarly pointed out the appended claims( Several embodimentsof the titl vention are shown, by way of' illustration and not of limitation` in the accompanying drawings7 wherein-- Figure l, is a view showing. in side elevation, `a. car equipped with my new doors; Fig. Q `is a detail. in perspective. ol" the npper hinge on one ot the doors; Fig. il is a view. similar to Fig. Q, illustrating :1 door ol slightly dillcrent construction; Fig. l is a side elevation otthe under'franieand superstructure of a car showing :mother moditication ot the doors; F and (S are views, in side elevation. ol onehalt oli a car, illustrating still further moditications ot its doors;` and Fig. 7 is a detail. in perspective. of the upper hinge of' the door shown in Fig. 6.

Referring first to Figs. l and E, A indi.- cates the nndertraine ot the car. and B B are the steel channel corner stakes of the 4fixed walls. here shown as end walls. which are usually closed by a plate sheathing. The two `opentrame doors D D are each formed by upper and lower trame members l, 2 and twousidc l'ranie members il l. all tprc'lcrably ot' `channel sect-ion. which at thc four corners are reinlorced by gnssets and braced by cross diagonale 5, G, the two parts of one diagonal being joined together and to the other by plates 7. The doors are hinged to the corner stakes by means ot an extension 8 of the outer corner gusset, top and bottoni, which is shaped into a hinge-me1nber and pivoted in a pivot-block 9 secured to a corner stake. The inner side channel il ot both doors is rextended downwardly at l0, and the doors are held in closed position by locking these extensions in releasing stakepockets 21,1 il, of ,known or of any suitable type, attached to the side of the undertrame. The doors when closed and locked to the `uniflert'rame are not only fixed at three oit their corners but, as will be seen, at the singlo tree corner are braced against the lateral `pressure ot the load by the `effective cantilever action ot the diagonal 6.

The door D illustrated in Fig. l is the saine as before. except that. the framework is sheathed by al steel plate l2 and the di agonal. o is omitted as here unnecessary.

In Fig. 4 the doorsD1 Dl, `framed by upper and lower and two side channels braced by corner gussets and closed by planks bolted `top and bottom to the channelsl` are hinged to the corner stakes in the manner described. At here shown, however, they are ol a width to meet, substantially, at the conter oit the car, and they are releasably locked together, both at the top and at the bottonnby a hasp-bar 13 which is pivoted to the traine of one and swings down behind a keeper-plate 14 attached to the frame of the other. The two hasp-bars can readily be connected by a. rod, it desired, to move together.

As illustrated in Fig. o. the inner side channel ot the open :l'rame door D`-` is omitted and in place thereot two upright stakes or bars l5, lo are bolted to the upper and lower channels, the stake lt being cX tended dmvnwardly below the top ot the undertrame to serve as a stop. The two doors are hinged to the corner stakes by gusset hinge-niernbers. as belore, and, like the doors ot Fig'. il, arc locked together by hasp-bars.

Aln the last modilication, Figs. t5 and 7, each of the two doors D3 (only one of which is shown) is an open parallelograin 'trained by upper and lower channels and by two up rights or stakes li'. 1S which are pivoted thereto by bolts. rlhc two channels of each door are hinged to a corner stake each by a. hinge member 19 which is pivot-ed to the head ot a bolt 2O swiveled between astrap 2l and the outer llange ol the stake to which it is secureffl. thus providing a universal joint connection. These doors., which swing outwardly and dmvnwardly whenreleased, are locked together at; the top by a hasp-`bar and each is further secured to the under- 'lrame by locking the downward extension ot the inner stake 1S in a releasing stakepocket.

In all cases the car `is provided with a dis charge side which, when the doors are released, is entirely open above the flooring.

ltwill ot course be understood that the doors may be 'further inodiiied in the details o1 their construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention. y

W'hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Paten@ isl. A vehicle ot the character described which comprisesl an undertrame and two spaced walls and which on its discharge side is provided with a door hinged to a wall to swing about a vert-ical axis, said discharge side having no lixe lco1i1iection between the walls above the underitranic.

i2. A vehicle ot the character described which coniprises an undcritralne and two parallel walls and which on its discharge side has no fixed side member between the walls and is provided with doors hinged to the walls and with means for releasably locking the doors in closed position.

l. A. vehicle olf the character described which comprises anunderliran'ie and two end walls with corner stakes and which on one ot its sides is closed only by doors framed with steel members and hinged to the corner stakes to swing outwardly,l about a vertical axis.

ll. A vehicle ofv the character described comprising an uiulcrliraine, two end. walls with steel channel corner stakesj and a` discharge side closure which consists ol. two doors 'framed by steel channels braced at the corners by gussets and hinged at their outer sides to the corner stakes by hingedexliensions of the upper and loWer gussets and means for releasably locking the doors 1n vclosed position at the side ofthe underframe.

5. In a vehicle of the character described, the combination with en underframe and two spaced Walls of a discharge side closure corner. v

LOUIS D. GREGGL 

